


Lapidot Anniversary Week Day 4: The Declaration

by theregoesjodariel



Series: Lapidot Anniversary Week 2019 [4]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, First Time Gem Fusion, Lapidot Anniversary Week, garnetswap, timeline only makes sense if you squint but shhhh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-23
Updated: 2019-05-23
Packaged: 2020-03-13 05:17:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18934231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theregoesjodariel/pseuds/theregoesjodariel
Summary: Lapidot Anniversary Week Day 4: Garnetswap AU.Peridot's been sent to the Beta Kindergarten as part of an inspection detail. She meets Lapis Lazuli just in time for the Crystal Gems to attack. Just in time for them to discover each other.





	Lapidot Anniversary Week Day 4: The Declaration

_ The Diamond Authority is inherently broken as a body of leaders and we have to accept that. But after accepting it comes the actual problem: finding ways to fix the broken system.  _

_ It should be evident by now that the Diamonds have created a system where Gems are taught that the first question they should ask their colleagues, their friends, is “what do you do?” Everyone fulfills a function, as ordered by an aggressively categorical system. If you are a Quartz, then congratulations, you’re working in a job involving manual labor, or, as of several years ago, serving as a soldier on deployment to Earth.  _

_ The solution, then, is to find new questions to ask that do  _ not _ amount to “what do you do?” Questions that reject the idea of inherent functionality. To find common ground not based on job-- _

“Setting down at Beta momentarily. Please be prepared for departure,” says the shrill voice through the communicator. Peridot, startled, fumbled the datapad in her limb enhancer-clad hands, almost dropping it, before grabbing ahold of it with shaking fingers and closing the document. No reason to worry, it was just Yellow Diamond’s Pearl letting them know they had arrived! No panicking-- for now.

She had scoffed when the scrawny Carnelian in the hangar bay on Homeworld had offered to send her some of Rose Quartz’s samizdat writings. What use did she have for polemics that didn’t apply to her?, she had asked. In response, the maroon Gem had grabbed her by the shoulders, told her  _ that _ was why she needed to read them, and had privately sent them to her immediately without question.

So, there she was, reading the rebel leader’s latest attack on the state,  _ Function Versus Form _ . On  _ Yellow Diamond’s ship _ . It was maybe, the most illegal thing (the  _ only _ illegal thing) she had ever done. She was accompanying Her Diamond, along with a detail of Quartz soldiers and her Pearl, to Earth to check on the construction of the Beta Kindergarten. She had jumped at the chance to be included-- she couldn’t  _ refuse, per se _ , but she really did want to go!

She opened the window panel to look out at the ground below. The area was a dark and rocky, dotted with small hills and mountains. All of them surrounded a clear, shimmering lake, running through the area that was to be the birthplace of a number of new Gems. Gems which, she was well-aware, it was  _ her _ responsibility to ensure were the perfect cut, the perfect sheen.

The moment of crisis that came with the realization remained as she and the rest of the group stepped out of the ship, all of them flanking Yellow Diamond’s brilliant golden Palanquin. The air on Earth was not helping; it was  _ sticky _ , she felt, clinging to her Gem like dew. 

She felt that feeling go away quickly, though, and it was only when she looked up that she realized why. All of the moisture in the area, including the lake, it seemed, was being drawn out of the air, the ground, their surroundings, and was now settled above them in a massive ball of water. 

That was when she first made eye contact with Lapis Lazuli.

The tall, blue Gem moved her hands above her head, her eyes screwed in concentration. Then, with one motion, she sent the ball of water flying, into the sky and out into the vacuum of space. 

Yellow Diamond’s Pearl, smiling slightly, gave a quick golf clap, which prompted whooping and rancorous applause from the Quartz detail. Peridot, though, was frozen, blushing as she stared at the beautiful Gem in front of her. 

The Lazuli smiled pleasantly. “Hey,” she said. “What’s your name?”

* * *

 

_ In a word, the solution is  _ Fusion _. The concept may seem taboo to many readers, but I assure you, it’s as natural as can be. Fusion has been with us forever-- for Star’s sake, some ancient texts dating back to the age of Black Diamond even discuss the first Diamonds performing it! _

_ Fusion, by its very nature, is incompatible with the system which the Diamonds have put in place. It is, to be blunt, too  _ easy _ for them  _ because _ of its complexity. When you fuse, you commit yourself to your most raw emotions, your love, your dedication, your pride. Fusion for utilitarian purposes is not true Fusion, because it considers function. True Fusion does nothing of the sort. _

_ Fusion is never done just because the Gems involved each know what the other(s) does/do; it’s too much of a commitment for that. To give an extreme example, imagine a Diamond and a Pearl engaging in Fusion. The concept alone-- of a Gem species the Diamonds consider replaceable, disposable-- fusing with the highest class goes against the mold. The experience that Diamond and that Pearl create and share is theirs and theirs alone.  _

_ Because Fusion is not a question. When Gems fuse, the questions have already been asked. The important questions, like “who are you?” Like “how do you feel?”  _

_ Fusion is not a question. It is a declaration. It is an  _ answer _. _

Rose Quartz’s words played through Peridot and Lapis Lazuli’s mind in stereo on their fourth day at Beta, when the Crystal Gems attacked. 

“Yellow Diamond, leave this planet!” proclaimed the one and only Rose Quartz, now mere feet away from the two Gems. “This colony will not be completed!”

“It’s the rebels! Get ‘em!” Shouted one of the Quartz soldiers, a Jasper. She, along with several others, piled in on Quartz, only for a hardy Bismuth and Quartz’s Pearl to fight them off effortlessly. 

Peridot clinked her floating fingers together as she watched Yellow Diamond’s Palanquin scurry back towards the ship. “She’s leaving without us!” She shouted to Lapis, her eyes wide as saucers. “We’ve gotta get outta here!”

Lapis, though, was staring transfixed at the scene before them. The Pearl was now engaged in a sword fight with  _ three _ soldiers, while Rose Quartz tried in vain to pursue the Palanquin. “Yeah, yeah, just one second.”

Peridot saw it before Lapis did. A large shadow loomed over them as Bismuth approached them as quietly as she could from behind. She held a fist, transformed into a hammer, over her head, poised to strike. She was aiming straight for Lapis’ Gem.

The smaller Gem detached her limb enhancers to gain some speed and threw herself into Lapis just before Bismuth’s hammer came down. They went sliding across the ground, leaving a trail of dirt and dust in their wake as Bismuth looked on. 

They came to a stop with Peridot in a heap on top of the ocean Gem, her head buried in Lapis’ shoulder. Sensing the danger had passed, she craned her head up to face the blue Gem. 

“Um.”

But before she could get any words out, a light enveloped them both.  _ Their  _ light, their bodies from their Gems, congealing, coming together.  _ Fusing _ .

Turquoise blinked in confusion.  _ Who am I? _

* * *

 

The cyan Fusion stumbled through the wilderness, trying to keep balance on her two legs. Her lower set of arms held onto her orange suspenders, clutching them in panic.  _ Why _ was she here again? What was she here to do?

Then came the voice in her head. It reassured her that she wasn’t there to  _ do _ ; she was 

there to  _ be _ . 

She got up and laughed. And then she started running. She was getting the hang of her strange new form.

And then she fell.

She went tumbling through the underbrush, through a bunch of pale leaves. The bush gave way to a hill, and down it she went, landing in a crumpled heap.

She heard the audible sharpness of the sword before she looked up to see the swordpoint she was being held  _ at. _ It was the Pearl, the one from earlier. The one who served…

“Don’t hurt us!” Turquoise shouted. “Don’t hurt… Me?”

Pearl raised an eyebrow quizzically. “Bismuth told me about you… The Fusion…”

Something aggressive kicked up in Turquoise’s shared mind. “Yeah, we fused. And-- and we didn’t mean to the first time, but this time we  _ did _ .” She paused for a moment, clearing her throat. “You wanna make something of it?”

And then came a voice. The voice that told her everything was going to be okay. The voice of rebellion, given form.

“No, no, please… I’m glad to see you again.”

**Author's Note:**

> I told you day 4's thing would be longer!  
> Anyway, hope y'all enjoyed this. Today's prompt was Garnetswap, but I tried to play kind of fast and loose with that premise since I think Garnet's love story really should be hers and hers alone. That said, I obviously lifted the basic plot and some dialogue from "The Answer," because how could I not?  
> Getting to write a couple excerpts from Rose's manifesto was definitely a lot of fun. I may do it again sometimes.


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